Rendezvous with Strangers
by Ebory Moore
Summary: Bella starts rendezvous with a handsome man called 'Tony.' A man she has no idea who he is. Will their casual encounters be threatened when reality catches up with them? Will their lines of work cross with each other? AU/AH. OOC. ON HIATUS
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Okay, so this is an idea I've been toying around with. I hope you guys like it!**

**-J**

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><p>Bella stopped suddenly in the middle of the deserted sidewalk. She didn't flinch when she felt a hot breath with the sweetest smell by her ear. She recognized it immediately. Peppermint.<p>

This smell had filtered in her dreams in a way that only happens in movies and books, and so did the owner of that warm breath.

She did not know his name, or age. She had never had a conversation with him, and had only heard his voice once, apart from his grunts and moans and growls. She didn't know if he had a family but was already dying to kiss him.

This had started a few weeks ago, when Isabella was returning home from the gym and stopped a second in front of a window display of a jewelry shop. She admired a pair of black pearl stud earrings, but she knew she couldn't afford them. She noticed a man staring at her through the window, just standing there, and staring with a serious expression, giving nothing away. She shook this curious encounter off and continued walking.

When she arrived home, she was surprised to find a small silver box outside of her apartment. She eyed it curiously, and decided to open it right there. She was pleasantly surprised when she found the exact earrings she had been admiring earlier, but quickly panicked. Was she being stalked? She thought of the handsome man with the crazy emerald eyes and the wild, untamed copper mess that was his hair. Had it been him?

She looked around her floor, half expecting him to jump up from behind a plant, and found herself oddly disappointed as he did not. She unlocked the door to her apartment and stopped in front of a small piece of torn paper on the floor. She bent down to pick it up.

In a very elegant script, it read;

_400 Pine St # 134, Seattle. Be there at 7pm. _

_Tony._

That had caught her completely off guard. Was Tony the guy from the store? How had he known where she lived?

And more importantly, why was she considering actually showing up? That was surely against biological senses of self-preservation. Tony could easily be a serial killer or a rapist!

_I'll just go see, out of curiosity, and leave right away._

She knew self-defense and always carried a can of pepper spray in her purse, courtesy of her over protective cop-dad.

_I'll be fine. It's just a guy._ She laughed at the absurdity of that thought. And of the whole situation.

Bella looked at the clock in the wall and cursed when she saw the time. It was already 6:30. She had to leave now if she wanted to meet the guy.

She ran into her room and changed her gym wear to casual jeans, flats, and a top. She grabbed the pearl studs and put them on, locking the house behind her.

_Nothing is going to happen. It's going to be fine…. A normal person would've ignored it… Called the police, even! Why the fuck did I come here? _She thought, nervous and unsure of her decision.

"Because you wanted to bone me, of course." She heard from behind her, and felt his breath by her neck, giving her shivers. His breath smelled of peppermint; fresh and cool.

_Has she said her thoughts out loud? _She wondered, flustered.

She turned around and met the brightest pair of green eyes she had ever seen in her life. What she had seen behind the window had placated what he actually looked like.

_This man could have anyone,_ she thought. _Why would he summon me here like this?_

She realized that her sense of self-preservation had finally caught up with her head, and swiftly decided to leave.

"Look, Mr. I'm sorry I came here, I don't know what I was thinking of. I'm leaving now. I'm not into rendezvous with strangers." She took off the studs from her ears and placed them on his hands. "Thanks for that, they're pretty. I'm sorry again."

She turned around and left, half expecting him to follow her and say 'Oh no, you won't' and kidnap her to later rape her and kill her with an axe.

Bella shuddered and shook her head. _I would stop watching marathons of Criminal Minds._

She hailed a cab and went back home.

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><p><strong>AN: Okay, so you know from the beginning that they do meet again. It's fanfiction, though. Of course they meet again and have pretty babies.**

**Thanks for reading! Next chapter coming very soon.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Okay, guys, I'm sorry for being such a sucky and unreliable writer, but I've been under the weather and writing has been the last thin on my mind.**

**I'll try to keep a more organized updating schedule.**

**Sorry for mistakes beforehand.**

**I don't own Twilight. Just some posters.**

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><p>Isabella had been looking for a job for a while. Apparently, having a degree wasn't all that mattered anymore. You had to be fierce. You had to be ready to stomp people and stab everyone who got in the way of your position.<p>

However, Bella wasn't like that. She couldn't and wouldn't do wrong to get a good position. She had been taught well.

Bella was a soft-spoken, petite girl. She was thin and below average height. She had impeccable manners and speech. She wasn't made to fight the fierce competition that was ready to get rid of her for a job.

When she was fresh out of college, she had high hopes. She imagined herself teaching English in a high school. She pictured a big class room with posters of Shakespeare and Donne and Frost.

Too bad life doesn't usually work out as you plan it.

Bella had to find a job in an office building out of desperation. She had started from the bottom and was now in a more respectable, yet still low, position. She was no longer photocopying and running out for coffee. She was now one of the main assistants to one of the owners of the company, Carlisle Cullen, whom shared the company with his brother in law, Edward Masen Sr., who married Carlisle's younger sister, Elizabeth.

Her boss, Carlisle Cullen, was rarely in. She, Angela, the first assistant, and Jessica, the second, worked mostly through emails. He told them what to do and when he wanted it. It worked for her. She liked the space. Yet it still was not enough.

Her life had become monotonous. Since she had to be basically at her boss' full disposition, she stopped trying to date –most of her dates where interrupted my Mr. Cullen, who desperately needed a file sent to him. The few acquaintances she had didn't seem to miss her company very much, and to be honest, neither did she, preferring to curl up on the couch with a pint of ice cream and an old movie.

She had also long ago given up on buying expensive things for herself. She only bought clothes and shoes that were on clearance, and never gave herself any treats, like jewelry or accessories.

So she already knew she would not buy those stud earrings that were screaming for her to take them home. She didn't even want to know the price. It didn't matter how 'cheap' the clerk thought they were, they were probably above her budget.

So saying that the past night was a complete and blatant surprise was an understatement. She was used to being invisible and looking plain. _Tony_ made her feel mysterious and beautiful and complex.

She was in such a high when she got back to her apartment, and she couldn't seem to be able to turn her brain off. Every time she closed her eyes, she pictured him, his eyes, his moans and groans and she was completely awake all over again.

She managed to fall into a dreamless slumber at the same times that the birds started chirping.

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><p>Mr. Cullen and Mr. Masen were both gone to a business trip in Chicago, so the office was relaxed on Monday. People didn't keep their usual pretenses, like typing extra hard on their keyboard so that their bosses noticed they were working. Or being quiet and organized to pretend they were incredibly professional and tidy. Which they were not.<p>

"Oh, come on, Crowley. You could never get her to say yes. She's a lesbian, I swear!" Mike Newton's words echoed all the way where Bella was making her way to the office, making her blush.

She knew Mike was talking about her. He had '_given her the privilege to go on a date with him', _as he so kindly put it, and she politely declined. She swore she heard him mutter 'frigid' and lesbian' as he walked away, sulking.

At the sound of Bella's footsteps, Tyler Crowley looked up, and rightfully blushed. He widened his eyes at Mike to stop talking, but he wasn't paying attention.

"She's not even that cute, ya know? I think she's stuck up and thinks she's the last coke on the desert." He chuckled at his lame joke.

Bella kept walking and staring straight. "Morning Crowley. Newton." She muttered.

Mike's eyes widened and he turned to Tyler, whose expression mirrored his.

"Morning, Bella." He breathed out to her retreating form.

Almost the same charade happened during lunch when she went to the bathroom to pee. She could hear two voices talking, and recognized one of them as Jessica.

She knew right away that they were talking about yours truly.

"…Goes to the bathroom right after lunch. I mean, like, Bulimia, much? I feel bad for her because even after all that throwing up, she has an ugly body."

Bella closed her eyes and tuned them out.

She was used to it. Jessica was stuck in high school. She acted like the popular girls at Bella's high school that bullied her to feel better about herself.

It was fine. She was used to it. Jessica was nothing. It was fine.

She used this as a mantra as she left the bathroom and went back to her cubicle.

She was thankful that it was next to Angela, a quiet girl and didn't bother her. She liked her. Angela was the only sane person here.

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><p>Monday and Tuesday had gone incredibly uneventful. Mr. Cullen had returned to the office, only to tell everyone that the business trip was not really a business trip, but a trip to a doctor in California for a surgery that Mr. Masen needed. There had been complication and they had to stay there longer.<p>

He told everyone what to do and left to SeaTac in a rush, perpetual frown and everything.

Bella felt like the whole problem was more like a crisis than a simple altercation, but she said nothing.

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><p>Bella returned to Tony on Tuesday. She was aware of the danger she was putting herself in, and could almost hear Charlie yelling at her. She felt like she needed to do something for herself, for once. And Tony looked more decent than her.<p>

He looked incredibly distressed, even more so than last time. She tried to get him to talk to her about it, but he didn't. He didn't even bring up the earrings, which Bella was thankful for.

She was starting to believe he was mute. Yet he could make sounds, like grunting and groaning when they slept together… She didn't know how those things went. Could mute people make sounds?

They had made out and both fell asleep. She woke up at about six a.m. on the next morning.

"Fuuuck!" She cursed as she ran around the place, looking for her clothes, which were scattered around literally everywhere.

As she was putting her pants back on, she tripped and fell with a loud thud. Which woke Tony up.

He sat up and rubbed his neck, then ran his hands through his sex hair.

"Hey." He said in a thick voice, full of sleep.

Bella froze and turned to him.

"You speak?" She blurted and flinched at her incredulous tone.

He chuckled. "Yep." He said simply, and got up. He walked pass Bella, towards the kitchen.

She couldn't help but stare at his ass. Which was perfect. It was soft, yet firm.

Tony looked up and smirked at her. "You told me so yesterday. Many times." He winked.

Bella's eyes widened. _Did she say that out loud?_

"You did." He said, with a cleared voice than before. His voice was pure sex.

_Well, fuck._

Tony smirked again and went to pour a glass of OJ for himself.

He offered some to Bella.

"I really got to get going. I need to go change and I have to be at work at seven." She frowned. "Why are you doing up this early? Aren't you people the privileged sort and get to sleep late?"

She hadn't said anything, but she noticed that he had money. His kitchen looked unused, but it was full of appliances that she would kill to have. The apartment was in a very private looking area. It had its own private street. And it looked like it had been designed and decorated by professionals. Very pricey professionals.

He frowned at her. "I have a family thing. Early flight." He answered evasively, getting the hint.

"Okay. Right. Uh… I have to go." She blushed furiously. Was this goodbye?

"I'll be back in town this Friday. So… you can come here if you want? At about 7?" He looked a little nervous.

Like anyone could say no to _him_.

_Ridiculous. _

"Uh… yeah, I guess. I'm free that day." She shrugged, knowing very well how stupid and obvious she must look to him.

"Okay… bye." She said and left.

When she was outside, seating in her car, she let out a deep, shaky breath.

"What the hell am I doing?" She muttered to herself and drove home to change.

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><p><strong>So... tell me what you think! Even if you don't like it, I appreciate feedback.<strong>

**Thanks for reading!**


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